The remains of Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu, who was found dead two weeks after the tragic earthquakes that decimated Türkiye on Feb. 6, will be laid to rest in his native home Ghana on March 17, according to Robert Ann, a family spokesperson who confirmed the news Monday.
Ann declared that a grand state funeral will be held for the late Atsu, the former player for Hatayspor, Chelsea and Newcastle United, and his family will honor his memory in mourning until his burial.
Atsu, 31, was found dead last month after going missing following the major twin earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye.
His body was sent to Ghana on Feb. 19.
Atsu, who joined Hatayspor last year, had previously played for several European teams, including Everton, Chelsea and Newcastle United in the English Premier League as well as Portuguese club Porto.
He was a member of Porto's 2013 Portuguese championship squad.
Atsu also scored 10 goals in 60 caps for Ghana.
The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye has risen to 48,448, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said Monday.
On Feb. 6, the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanlıurfa.
More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes as well as many others in northern Syria.
